I was about to add my 2 cents worth, but Dan Winheld echo's my experience. I do have one of the new generation loaded string of Mimmo's, and I use it on the 11th course on the 11-course lute. It works well, for the deep bass.
Years ago, I used Dan Larson's loaded guts for the 5th & 6th, but he no longer makes them. I use Pistoys, and love them. His had the same trouble for 5 & 6. Avoid loaded strings in the midrange - that is my advice. down there. Here is the problem, David: Loading gut adds weight, with the metal. Having the added weight makes the strings move more, and especially on fretted courses, one gets the added vibration, or "chatter" with frets. You are not the only one. it is not a criticism in any way of Mimmo's fine work, but it is a problem with loading. Use Pistoys for those strings, or Mimmo's mid range strings, and you will be a far happier camper. ed At 05:06 PM 12/5/2010, Daniel Winheld wrote: >My only experience is with his first generation loadeds from some >years ago. I still have one in use as the 7th course fundamental on >my Chambure copy (yes, a 7 course vihuela) and it's absolutely fine. >I got one (!) pair of matching loadeds for the unison 6th that were >enough in tune with each other up the 5th fret and almost tolerable >to the 7th, but in the end slight falseness- in relation to each >other- and the buzzing caused me to drop them. In my case, unisons >could be expected to buzz pretty easily. The 7th course w/octave >string is no problem. For the 6 and 5, I am finding Dan Larson's >pistoys to be entirely satisfactory. Also for the 7th course >fundamental at F on my new Larson 8 course- but I miss the clarity of >the loaded gut which his Pistoys do not quite equal yet for a low D- >I may rob the vihuela of that remaining loaded gut for the 8th on the >lute, as I am playing it a lot more than my other instruments. > > I am surprised that you can make loaded gut work as high as the 5th >course; I found them to be too bright, and impossible to get unisons >that were in tune with each other. But so far nothing beats them for >diapasons on single pegbox lutes of 9 to 13 courses. > >Didn't notice any tension requirements different from my other >strings; and I string light- almost as light as Toyohiko, but not >quite. Are you using his new generation loadeds, or still using old >survivors? > >Dan > > > >A question for experiences of other users of loaded guts from Aquila. > >I've used them on courses five, six and seven of a 61cm lute at 30 to > >33N (around 3kg, if you prefer). > >I love the sound: gutsy yet with a bite without being metallic. But > >they buzz. I tend to have a heavy thumb, so I first blamed myself. > >Soon I discovered it was not my thumb but string buzz against frets > >because these strings are so flexible. Before the latest concert on > >this instrument I decided to change all the frets to get rid of the > >buzzing (steeper incline from highest to lowest fret, whatever to get > >rid of the buzzing). But with only the first fret (thick one!) in > >place I discovered the strings buzz high up on the fingerboard even > >without other frets, so no scheme of fretting would have helped. > >I have a similar problem with a loaded gut string on my theorbo > >(single string six). But here an extreme fretting scheme seems to keep > >the buzzing mostly under control. > > > >I get the impression Mimmo prefers to see his strings used under a > >higher tension and I get the impression these strings are better > >suited as non-fretted strings (B-lute 7 and down or the short > >extension of attiorbatos), which would both reduce the risks of > >buzzing. > >But still, these are nice strings to use on the fingerboard. Any > >people with (dis)similar experiences? Any comments welcome. > > > >David - like dt's expression TFZ but regrets to say Mille Regrets is > >supposedly not written by Josquin, likes Karamazov's Bosnian fado but > >gets an occasional admonition to get rid of his own tics and facial > >expressions yet also has fans who enjoy these facial expressions face > >during concerts and other people who approach him after concerts only > >to tell how fascinating his eyebrows were and who never mention the > >music he played - still, it makes a living > >-- > > > > > >To get on or off this list see list information at >http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html Edward Martin 2817 East 2nd Street Duluth, Minnesota 55812 e-mail: [email protected] voice: (218) 728-1202 http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1660298871&ref=name http://www.myspace.com/edslute
